


Showing Some Initiative

by Impala_Chick



Category: 13 Reasons Why (TV)
Genre: Angst and Feels, F/M, Marriage Proposal, Post-Canon, Proposal - Genuine Proposal Assumed to be a Cruel Joke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-15 16:21:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29192223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Impala_Chick/pseuds/Impala_Chick
Summary: Ani visits Bryce during winter break, and he says something that surprises her.
Relationships: Amorowat "Ani" Achola/Bryce Walker
Comments: 4
Kudos: 4
Collections: Shotgun Wedding Flash Exchange





	Showing Some Initiative

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SegaBarrett](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SegaBarrett/gifts).



Ani stood on Bryce’s doorstep with her duffel bag and her backpack, unsure of what to say once she went inside. She and Bryce hadn’t visited each other all semester, but that had been by design. She’d wanted Bryce to try living on his own, without her help. 

He was always so careful whenever they were together. He’d hardly ever let himself show possession or anger. He was never the one to initiate anything sexual, although he had started to allow himself casual touches, like sometimes resting his hand on her shoulder or putting his arm around her waist while they stood in line for something. 

She liked the way he gave her control. He wanted her to be in charge. 

But his timidness also signaled to her that he hadn't forgiven himself. He hadn’t finished processing what he needed to. She wasn’t sure if he was ever going to be ready, but maybe some space would help.

It was time to see if anything had changed.

“Bryce?” She called as she unlocked the door and pushed it open. She had a key, so there was no reason to knock. When he didn’t answer, she walked through the kitchen to ditch the keys on the counter.

“In here,” he answered. He sounded a little out of breath, like maybe he’d been running. It sounded like he was in his bedroom, so Ani walked in that direction.

When she stepped in the doorway, she glanced over at Bryce before dropping her duffel on the ground near the closet. “So, I was thinking maybe we can get something to eat?”

“Ani,” Bryce pleaded. His voice was soft, which gave her pause.

She finally looked at him. He had a bouquet of roses in one hand, and he handed them to her. She took them, but squinted her eyes at him in confusion.

“What’s this for?” she asked. 

Bryce smiled wide, and then he shoved both of his hands into the pockets of his slacks.

“Will you marry me?” Bryce said.

Ani widened her eyes and then huffed a laugh. “You’re joking.”

Because he had to be. He was just standing there, in his room, looking the same as he had the last time she saw him. He didn’t have a ring, and he hadn't gotten down on one knee, and there was no way he could be serious.

Ani thought about throwing the roses at him, but that would have been too damn dramatic. Instead she hurried out of the room and into the kitchen to find a vase. Good thing his mother wasn’t home, or she would have to answer a bunch of awkward questions about whatever the hell just happened. 

She hadn’t seen Bryce in person in over four months, and he decided to pop the question as a joke? To what, test her? She was about to graduate college, she still had her whole life to figure out, and Bryce hadn’t even bothered to welcome her back home before pulling whatever stunt that was supposed to be. A wave of frustration rolled over her, and she had to stop what she was doing to catch her breath.

She heard him step up behind her, but she didn’t turn around. She was still leaning against the kitchen counter where she’d abandoned the roses, squeezing her eyes shut and willing the tears to stop.

“I didn’t think that… I wasn’t joking,” Bryce said. “Would you please just look at me?”

Ani sighed and turned around with her arms crossed. 

Bryce was wiping his palms on his thighs, and his brow was furrowed like he was confused. Or worried.

“I saw you again and I just really wanted you to know how much I missed you the last few months, and how much I want you to be in my life. I’m sorry, I’ve totally fucked this up.” Bryce ran a hand through his hair, and Ani got the feeling he was being genuine.

Now she felt the tears threatening to fall again, but for a completely different reason.

“We have to get to know each other again, you know? I can’t just - I’m not ready to make a decision like that.”

“I’m sorry,” Bryce said again. He kept putting his right hand in his pocket and pulling it back out, like he didn’t know what to do with it. 

Ani looked at him, standing there looking so confused about her unhappiness, and burst into laughter. It was the hiccuping kind that racked her whole body, and she doubled over. 

“What is going on?” Bryce asked. 

Ani wiped away her tears and straightened up, and then she took his hand to explain. “You _finally_ show some initiative, and you say something so weird and so out of the blue that I thought you were fucking around.”

Bryce looked down at their clasped hands with a small smile on his face. “So it’s not a no?” 

She bit her lip and looked at him with fresh eyes. The tumultuousness of the last few minutes had exhausted her and washed her clean in an unexpected way. He’d tried to express himself to her in a spontaneous way. It was the wrong moment, sure. But maybe this meant some things had changed for the better.

“Let’s get through today first,” she said with a smile. 

She wasn’t ready to say yes.

But he was right. She didn’t want to say no yet, either.


End file.
